


Tears of the Light

by SuperNamu



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Angst, Character Death, Established Relationship, Gangs, M/M, Organized Crime, Violence, cannot guarantee if your fave lives, im gonna apologize right now, people gonna die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-12 23:42:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13558059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperNamu/pseuds/SuperNamu
Summary: Sunggyu thought he could get away with it. He covered his tracks; he made sure there were no evidence left behind. And yet, with each step he took, they were a thousand miles ahead, destroying everything he held precious in their path.





	1. Chapter One

The burlap sack around his head was roughly snatched away, and he had to blink a couple of times to adjust to the new light–or lack of. It took all of his strength to not fall out of his seat as the van he was situated in rocked back and forth on the uneven road. His hands were bound to his back by thick, braided rope, its nylon material digging painfully into his wrist. The same for his ankles. If it weren’t for the cluster of dirty paper towels stuffed down his throat, he’d curse at the young man sitting opposite of him with an unruly smirk plastered on his face. Instead, he threw his best intimidating glare at him. It probably had the exact opposite of effect on the other, for he laughed and laughed till he began to hack up his lungs.

Lee Sungyeol.

 _Fuck him_.

“Oh man, oh man!” Sungyeol wiped the tears that threatened to trickle from his eyes. “I wish they could see you now.”

He fidgeted in his seat, trying to loosen the ropes around his hands. He had a small pocket knife wrapped around his ankle. If he could just get his hands on it, he could end Sungyeol’s pathetic, little existence right here and now. He would aim for the jugular first, quick and simple, watch as the other would attempt to press his hands against the wounds, attempt to stop the bleeding. And then he would swiftly aim another stab to his abdomen, making sure to get the aorta, making sure this fucker would suffer as he died.

Sungyeol gestured to one of the grunts on his right that were clutching his arms just in case he did break free of the ropes. They wiggled in their seat, reaching for something deep in their pants’ pocket. After the struggle of a lifetime, he pulled out a small, busted phone from the stone ages. Sungyeol snatched it out of his hands, messing around with for couple of seconds before holding it up in front of him.

“Say cheese,” Sungyeol cackled as if this was the most hilarious thing to ever occur in his sad excuse of a life. The camera’s flash came on, and he couldn’t help but flinch from the sudden light. Sungyeol suddenly then wedged himself in between him and the grunt to his right. The young man held the phone out high in front of them.

He looked up and saw himself and Sungyeol on the phone’s camera with the latter throwing up a peace sign. A bright and ugly smile was on his face. Sungyeol pressed the shutter button a few times, blinding the bounded young man with its flash.

“C’mon, _Sunggyu_! Live a little, and smile for the camera. I’m sure the boss would love this,” Sungyeol drawled, flicking his hair, a shade of vivid cerise, out of his eyes.

 _Fuck you_ , Sunggyu wanted to say, but all that came out was gargled mess.

“Okay, we’re done,” the young man announced, the smirk on his lips gone.

Sunggyu shivered at the change of tone, change of disposition, and wondered where he was being taken. He squinted his eyes at the windows, but they were too tinted to see through. He thought he had been careful; he thought he had been thorough, but obviously not. 

He should had listened to Dongwoo and his warnings. Things were getting too risky. They wanted more and more from him, and he wanted more and more from them.

He was too cocky.

Overconfident.

Greedy.

He carefully watched as Sungyeol leaned back in his seat, arms crossed as he stared right back into Sunggyu’s eyes. His eyes twitched with a gleam of wickedness. And Sunggyu couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his spine.

A sudden knock from the other side of the van's inner wall behind Sungyeol where the driver was seated startled Sunggyu, making him break eye contact with the younger man. A small tinted window behind Sungyeol’s head slid open, and with the faintest of a whisper, the driver alerted them of their arrival. Sunggyu strained his eyes, striving to see the outside world again, but nothing could be seen.

Sungyeol reached out, grasping Sunggyu’s chin. His lanky fingers, a pale white, bruised his skin. He leaned in, lips brushing Sunggyu’s ears. “This is your one and only warning, Kim Sunggyu. I won’t hesitate next time.” He pulled away, his dark brown eyes boring into Sunggyu’s. He snapped his fingers and the van doors quickly slid open.

A pair of hands seized Sunggyu by the neck and threw him outside. He landed on the cold, concrete ground with a loud thud, a low groan escaped from the young man being muffled by the paper towels. He noticed he was in a damp alleyway with only one exit, which was blocked by the van. He tried to sit up, but a sudden foot was slammed down on his head, pinning him to the cement, rocks scrapping his face.

He felt someone else kneel beside him as the ropes that bound his hands and feet were freed. Sunggyu didn’t dare move or retaliate. He was sure he could take down a couple of them–or at least the one stepping on his face–but there’d be no way he could take on Sungyeol at the moment. And not without a proper weapon. The man was Satan incarnate.

Not as bad as Myungsoo, though.

Sunggyu flexed his hands, feeling the skin around wrist stretched raw with rope burn. The foot on his head moved away, and Sunggyu hesitantly sat up, ignoring the popping of his joints as the feelings in his limbs came back. He took the paper towels out of his mouth, taking a deep, clear breath. It felt good to properly breathe through his mouth again. The moment he turned around, a duffle bag full of his hacking equipment was thrown at him, knocking him back. Another foot landed on him, though, this time, on his chest.

Sungyeol loomed over him, his gangling body blocking the dull streetlight behind. “Don’t forget my warning, alright?” He repeated. Sunggyu glared in response. Once this was over, he’d get in contact Dongwoo and figure out his next plan. He’d listen to him this time. See if the younger man could get him couple of plane tickets. It was too dangerous to stay with them. He’d pack up their stuff and move to another city. Maybe a small town close to the coast full of old people who wouldn’t give a damn about him. It was going to be a bitch convincing him to move, though.

“Take some advice,” Sungyeol continued, applying more pressure to Sunggyu’s chest. “ _We own you._ You’re ours. You want out? After everything we did for you? _Please_ , we’ll let you go when we feel like it, and that _may be never_. So I suggest, you get over yourself, and you do what we tell you to do. We tell you to hack, then you hack.” He leaned down, foot still on him, his face a couple of inches from Sunggyu. “We tell you to kill, then you kill. We tell you to die for us, then you…” He gestured to the other, expecting him to follow the pattern.

Instead, Sunggyu scowled, refusing to submit. Sungyeol sighed, straightening up. He moved his foot off of the other. Only to deliver a well aim kick to his side. Sunggyu rolled over, groaning, pain blossoming all over. Sungyeol gripped the collar of his shirt, rolled him back over and punched him dead straight in the nose. Sunggyu could feel blood gush down his face.

Now how would we explain this to _him_?

“Sunggyu, I want you to remember this moment, when we’re torturing you and everyone you have an ounce of care for. We gave you the opportunity to grow and rise in the ranks. We gave you so many chances, but you spat it back in our faces. Who’d known you'd be so ungrateful? Did you honestly think you could get away stealing so much from us? You think we wouldn’t had noticed? When that time comes, I want you to look back on this moment and regret every single one your choices.” Sungyeol turned around, wordlessly ordering the others to get back in the van before doing the same. The van doors shut with a loud slam. Before the van pulled off, the tinted window slowly rolled down, and Sungyeol stuck his head out. “You’ll be hearing from us real soon. See you later, Sunggyu.”

That detestable smirk was back, marring his face.  Sunggyu wiped away his blood, smearing it across his face, mustering up his best glare–hard to do when you couldn’t even breathe anymore.

Sungyeol waved bye, the van pulling off, leaving Sunggyu stranded in the alleyway.

Sunggyu stumbled to his feet, swinging his heavy duffle bag around his shoulder. He pressed one arm against his bruised side–he was pretty sure he had a broken rib from that kick–and his other hand squeezed his nose, blood still oozing down. He staggered out of the alleyway into a deserted street. He looked around, not recognizing the area at all.

“Fuck,” he mumbled. He didn’t know where he was, they trashed his phone, tossed his wallet, he accidentally left his keys at home, _and_ he was late for dinner?

Let’s not forget that there’s a good chance that he’s been blacklisted, and at any moment, the boss could change his mind and send someone to get _rid of him_.

He’s screwed no matter the outcome.

A sudden raindrop landed on his face, startling him. Sunggyu looked up and felt another.

And then another.

And another.

Raindrop after raindrop, slowly fell upon him, and he felt like the gods above were laughing at his situation.

* * *

He had lost track of how long it had been, but Sunggyu finally made it back into well-known territory. He had walked and walked for who knows how long, ignoring the pain in his body, ignoring the way his feet felt like lead. Familiar landmarks could be seen on the horizon, and the streets slowly grew crowded with late night clubgoers. Sunggyu ignored the confused and uneased glances people threw his way, taking in his bloody appearance.

Sunggyu didn’t want to know what he looked like.

Probably death.

As he continued down the street, bobbing and weaving through the crowd, he saw a pay-phone in the distance. He rushed to it, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He was still so far from home. If he could get in contact with Dongwoo, maybe the other could come and pick him up and drive him home.

Sunggyu stuffed himself in the booth, hands still roaming around in his pockets. Sungyeol and his men may had ambushed him earlier, getting rid of everything on him at that moment before beating him up for his _alleged_ betrayal, but he was sure he still had some spare change in his pockets.

After a couple of more seconds rummaging around, he found enough change to make one phone call; Sunggyu just hope that Dongwoo would actually answer for once.

Sunggyu practically punched the other’s number into the payphone, his fingers, raw and dried with blood, trembled as he slipped the change into the slot. He slid his duffle bag to ground, listening to phone ring. His tapped on the ground, nervousness crawling through his veins. He eyed the people that walk by the booth, praying that none of them was from The Clan, praying that none of them would be listening in on his call.

The phone continued to ring, and Sunggyu wanted to slam his head against the glass in frustration. Dongwoo had a terrible habit of not answering his phone, and an even worse habit of forgetting to call back.

“ _Fucking shit_ ,” Sunggyu spat, kicking the wall of the booth as Dongwoo’s answering machine came on. The one time he truly needed his help… And there was no one else to call.

Well, that was not entirely true. But he had no more money, so there was no point dwelling on it.

Just as he was about ram the phone back onto the hook, he heard Dongwoo’s answering machine click off and the voice of his _potential_ savior speak.

“Hello?” Dongwoo drawled.

“Oh, thank God, Dongwoo!” Sunggyu cheered up, leaning heavily against the booth’s walls.

“Who is this?”

“Sunggyu.”

“Sunggyu who?”

“Kim Sunggyu.”

“Kim Sunggyu who?”

“How many fucking Kim Sunggyus do you know, dumbass?!” Sunggyu was not in the mood for Dongwoo’s games.

“Well…”

“ _Dongwoo, I swear to God_ –”

“I’m just joking!” Dongwoo’s guffawed. Sunggyu had to move the phone from his ear to not go deaf. “Lighten up a little, Sunggyu!”

“I don’t got time to lighten up! I have about one more minute before this collect call ends!”

“Okay, what’s the deal-io? And why do you sound like that, like all nasally?”

Ignoring the question, Sunggyu quickly said, “You’ve been right all along. _They_ found out.”

Dongwoo was quiet for a moment before saying, “And you’re still alive?”

“Apparently the boss took pity on me. But they’re not gonna give me a third chance. I doubt they’re giving me this second chance. I’m probably on borrowed time.”

“Sunggyu–”

“I know, I know. I should had listened to you, but I… I got too greedy. I was careless. I did it all for _him_ , though. _He_ deserves so much; much more than what I can give him.” He sighed.

What was he doing right now?

It was their fourth-year anniversary dinner tonight.

Or yesterday, specifically, since it was well past three in the morning.

“Sunggyu, where are you? What are you calling me from? It’s not your usual number.”

“Ah,” Sunggyu looked around, trying to find a street sign. “I think I’m in Hongdae, by the train station exit for the university. I need you to pick me up. I don’t have enough money to get on the train. They took everything.”

“Alright, I’ll be there in fifteen–”

The call cut off before Dongwoo could finish the rest. Sunggyu slowly hung the phone up. He then slowly shuffled out of the booth, dragging his duffle bag along the ground, too exhausted to pick it back up, and made his way back to the main street. He sat down on the curb, his back pressed against the tunnel wall that led downstairs to the subway station. People walked around, eyeing him cautiously. Sunggyu flipped them off, too tired to give a fuck anymore. The bleeding had stopped, drying on his face. He had constantly wiped his nose earlier, so he was sure his face was covered in dry blood. He could really use a smoke right now.

Sunggyu looked down at his disheveled clothes. Yesterday, he was wearing a pristine, grand suit, tailored just for him. He wanted to make sure he looked his best for their anniversary dinner, but now…

Now his suit was ruined, matted with blood and dirt, his tie hanging haphazardly around his neck. His white button-down shirt was ripped at the sleeves, dangling around his elbows by just a small thread. He was too weary to rip it off completely. And he had no clue what happened to his black suit jacket along the way.

A sudden honk gained his attention, and a dirty, green pickup truck pulled up in front of him, stopping traffic behind. A series of yells, curses, and more honking came immediately afterwards, but the driver ignored it. The passenger side window rolled down, and Dongwoo waved to him.

Sunggyu grabbed his bag and hauled himself into the truck. He had never been so happy to see his friend. He reached out, ruffling Dongwoo’s vivid pink hair, almost as bright as the neon lights that flashed on the billboards, as a sign of appreciation.

“Sunggyu, you look like shit,” Dongwoo snickered, beaming at the other. His smile was more dazzling than his dreams.

“Fuck off, Dongwoo and just drive me home.”

* * *

 

“Sunggyu, we’re here.” Said man peeled his eyes open, his vision blurry with sleep. He looked out the window and saw that they were parked in front of the apartment complex he lived at.

“What time is it?” He yawned.

“A little past 4.”

“Fuck,” Sunggyu groaned, rubbing his face. It hurt just to touch it. “He’s gonna be so pissed. There’s no way I can get around explaining this.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. You’d been lying to him for the last seven or so years, right?” Dongwoo patted him on his back.

“How do I explain _this_?” He pointed to his busted, broken nose. “And this?” He then pointed to his bloody clothes. “And what about this?!” And finally, he pointed to the clock on the dashboard. “We were supposed to go to this really expensive, nice restaurant _yesterday_.” His voice cracked in distress.

“…Do you want me to go in there with you? He likes me more than you.”

“ _No he doesn’t_! He’s my boyfriend!”

“Don’t you mean fiancée?”

Sunggyu moaned in agony. Today– _yesterday_ –was supposed to be magical. They’ve been together for four years, friends for longer. A year ago, on their third anniversary, he had proposed to the other. However, the wedding had to be put on hold because of his “job.” Of course the other didn’t know about that.

“Sunggyu, get some rest, okay? I’m sure he’ll understand and believe whatever you tell him. Call me later on, and brief me in on everything that happened tonight. I told you it was too dangerous to stay with them. And now’s the perfect time to get the fuck out.”

Sunggyu nodded wordlessly. If he had listened to the other earlier, at this very moment, he could had been cruising away on his honeymoon with the light of his life.

The young man slithered out of the truck. When he reached for his bag, Dongwoo grabbed it first, hauling it into the backseat. “I’ll keep it. Give it to you later. Wouldn’t want him to see all this equipment.”

Sunggyu nodded again. “What would I do without you?” He wondered aloud.

“Probably still be stuck at that dead-end computer job fiancée-less.” Dongwoo smiled. Sunggyu had to covered his eyes from how shiny the other’s teeth were.

“But it’s also your fault I’m even in this situation,” he growled.

“Touché,” Dongwoo frowned. _Technically_ , Dongwoo is the one who introduced him to Howon, who then introduced him to Sungyeol, who then introduced him to Myungsoo, who then introduced him to the boss.

_Fuck Dongwoo!_

Sunggyu waved bye as he trudged up the main entrance of the apartment complex and made his way to the elevator. The apartment complex was a high-rise, situated in the more _nicer_ and more _expensive_ district in Seoul. Only people was a key, or, in Sunggyu’s case, a hand print could get pass the entrance. The young man slouched against the elevator wall as it slowly rose to the twenty-seventh floor.

It took all of his strength to walk down the long hallway to the last door on the left: his home.

He dug in his pockets to get his keys, only to remember that he had left it on the kitchen counter this morning before he left to prepare for their dinner. Sunggyu grumbled, slamming his head against the door, immediately regretting the action. He let out a stream of curses as he pressed his hands against his nose in aguish. He turned around, placing his hand on the wall opposite of his door, breathing in harshly through his mouth.

“Sunggyu?” A quiet, deep voice called out.

Said man instantly straightened up, swallowing thickly, keeping his back to the source of the voice. He was kind of hoping the other was asleep, that way, he could head back downstairs to the front desk, request a temporary key to his apartment, sneak in, and clean up before the other saw him.

“What the fuck, Sunggyu?” The other had sighed.  And wasn’t just any regular ol’ sigh, Sunggyu knew. It was an angry sigh. The angriest of sighs. The sigh where he better go to the local flower shop, buy a bouquet of roses and chocolates, and write a seven-page apology on how he fucked up and how sorry he was.

A hand rested on his shoulder and coerced him to turn around. When he did, he came face-to-face with his fiancée. A deep frown etched on his face, the bags under his eyes heavy and obvious. His dark brown hair tousled and disheveled. He was wearing one of Sunggyu’s old, baggy shirts that reached his knees because he was so stupidly short, and a pair of gym shorts.

“ _What the fuck, Sunggyu?!_ ” The angry frown had turned into horror as the other took in his appearance.

“I can explain?” He meekly answered.

“You fucking better,” the other muttered, promptly turning around and heading back inside their apartment. Sunggyu followed behind, slowly, the warmth of their home closing in around his aching body. He made a bee-line for the living room and to the couch, slumping against the soft furniture. He gave a dreadful sigh as he rubbed his face, feeling some of the dry blood peel off.

Sunggyu noticed that the tv was on, though, the volume was low, almost muted. The news was on. There was some pillows and a blanket bunched up on the other side of the couch. Had he been waiting for him to come home this entire time? He then noticed a couple of fancy bags and flowers dumped on the lounge chair across the room from him. Were those supposed to be his anniversary gifts? Now he felt shittier.

He heard the other rummaged around in the kitchen for a minute before the other came into the living room. He was holding a small first-aid kit and a couple of wet rags, and a towel. He sat down on the coffee table in front of Sunggyu, the table creaking at the sudden weight but gave no indication of breaking down.

The room grew quiet, neither of them saying a word.  The younger wordlessly cleaned Sunggyu’s wounds, his brows furrowing every time Sunggyu flinched away in pain. He made the other take off his raggedy button-down, his eyes widening as he saw the already-purple and green bruises Sungyeol left on his torso. The younger then moved to his face, his hands trembling as he cleaned the blood away.

“It’s broken,” Sunggyu explained, if it wasn’t obvious from the way his voice sounded nasally and distorted.

The younger opened his mouth to speak, but nothing ever came.

“I’m sorry, Woohyun,” Sunggyu started. “I fucked up really bad.”

“You fuck up a lot, Sunggyu,” he mumbled. Sunggyu cringed at that.

Where was the lie?

“I know, but I really mean it this time–”

“I don’t _understand_ ,” Woohyun complained, setting down the medical supplies. “I thought I could get used to it, you randomly disappearing for days on end, with no contact. I’ve known you for, what, seven years? And you do this shit all the time. I thought I could handle it. You never tell me what you’re doing, and I get so scared when one day turns into five and six and seven, and no one can tell me where you are. I thought I could get used to coming home to an empty apartment every day; I thought I could get used to sleeping in _our_ bed by myself ninety percent of the time. But you coming home _like this_?” He gestured to all the blood. “What the fuck are you doing, Sunggyu? I love you, but you’re scaring me! You’ve been away much longer than you normally do. What are you doing that causes you to get your nose broken?!”

“I know,” Sunggyu whispered. “And I’m so sorry–”

“Sunggyu, _we’re getting married_!” His voice cracked, and he hid his face in his hands, and Sunggyu felt like a piece of shit. He hated making the younger cry, and he wasn’t a cute crier either.

“Woohyun–” He reached out, but the other turned away from him.

“I don’t wanna to be a widower, Sunggyu. I don’t want my _best friend_ to die. I don’t wanna come home if you’re never gonna return. If something happens to you, Sunggyu, what am I gonna do?”

Sunggyu hushed the younger, pulling him into his arms, ignoring the pain as Woohyun wrapped his arms around him tightly. “I’m not going anywhere,” he promised, kissing the crown of Woohyun’s head. And he meant it. Tonight had showed him that he had limited time left, and if he didn’t do something quick and get out of The Clan, there would be no home to return to. There would be no Woohyun to return to.

“Sunggyu, whatever you’re doing, please stop it. I’m so scared for you.” He cried. “When you didn’t show up for dinner, I was angry. I called and called, but you never picked up. And then I got so scared. I called Dongwoo, but he said he hadn’t spoken to you in a while. So I called Howon–”

“You called who?!” Sunggyu pulled away from Woohyun, giving the younger an alarming face.

“I called Howon.”

What the fuck?

“How do you know him?” He swallowed the lump in his throat.

Woohyun wasn’t supposed to know anything. He had kept this, _all of this_ , a secret from Woohyun the moment they met. He wanted Woohyun to have nothing to do with the sins and crimes he had committed over the years. He had made sure to cover his tracks well, refusing to give Woohyun any concrete answer. It was miracle the younger even said yes to the marriage proposal. It was a miracle Woohyun was still even with him. Woohyun could do so much better. He deserved someone much better than Sunggyu.

“W–We met at my j–job,” Woohyun stuttered, confusion etched on his face. “Remember that festival my school hosted a few months back, where all the parents and children from the neighborhood could come and have fun? We met there… He said he had a son who went to my school, and that he was a close friend of yours…”

 _They_ weren’t supposed to know about Woohyun. He had made extra sure to keep him away from The Clan. If they knew he was _with_ someone, someone outside of The Clan. They’d kill them. It was a risk being with Woohyun. It was a risk being with Woohyun for these last few years. But he loved the younger so much, that the thought of leaving tore him apart. So he took cautionary steps upon cautionary steps to make sure The Clan never knew about Woohyun and Woohyun never knew about The Clan.

How did they find out?

Howon didn’t have no fucking kid.

He despised children.

“He said you guys were co-workers. You never talk about your job, so I asked him about it,” Woohyun continued. “He… didn’t really say what you guys do.” He frowned. “But he gave me his number, said to call him, if I can’t get in contact with you…”

Oh, sweet fucking baby Jesus, why was the love of his life so gullible?

Howon wasn’t as dangerous as the others, but if he knew about Woohyun, then who else?


	2. Chapter Two

Sunggyu grumbled sleepily, rolling over in his bed. His body throbbed with any little movement he made. The ache worsened as he continued to roll around and find a comfortable position in bed. No matter how he laid, some body parts screamed at him in agony. He rolled onto his stomach, the warmness of his blankets lulling him back to a somewhat painful sleep, and reached out to the other side of the bed, searching for his little, naïve fiancée only to feel coldness. Sunggyu lifted his head, patting the empty space some more. He opened his eyes, bleary from exhaustion, and squinted hard at the bed.

What time was it? It was the weekend, so Woohyun didn’t have work, and with last night’s events, he was sure The Clan wouldn’t be trusting him with any jobs for the meantime. He wondered how much time he had before they changed their minds? It would be a risk to finish what he had started, so he’ll need to lay low for a while, not cause any scenes, and follow orders to a T before he could finish wiring all that money into his other accounts.

Before he could mull on it more, he heard noises coming from the kitchen. Their bedroom door was ajar; a glimpse of the morning sunlight streamed through the cracks. There were voices, low and too quiet for Sunggyu to make out, and the young man became too curious to fall back to sleep.

With a groan, Sunggyu got up and trudged to the bathroom. His head pulsated in pain with each step he took. The adrenaline from last night was gone, and all that was left behind was fatigue. He turned on the lights in the bathroom and stood frozen in shock in front of the mirror. He knew he got the crapped beat out of him last night by Sungyeol and his goons, but he definitely looked much worse than how he felt.

His nose had swelled up, the skin around it a deep red. Dried blood was caked around his nostrils. The bridge of his nose was slightly crooked, and Sunggyu didn’t dare touch it. His lips were also swollen; scabs had began forming from where it got busted–so much happened yesterday, he doesn’t even remember when that happened. He refused to address the– _already_ –black and blue bruise blossoming under his left eye. The only mildly okay thing was his hair. He carded his fingers through his jet-black hair, ruffling it a bit.

Sunggyu quickly splashed water in his face, hissing at the pain, before throwing himself into the shower, not even waiting for the water to warm up. He had things to do, and people–more like one person–to see. He needed to call Dongwoo and figure out his next plan. He also needed to come up with a plan to get Woohyun to forgive him for missing their anniversary dinner last night. After their talk, or more so Sunggyu refusing to give the younger any actual answers last night, Woohyun had given him the cold shoulder and stormed off to bed, leaving Sunggyu to clean up the bloody mess he made just from sitting on the couch. He also refused to cuddle with him in bed, which gave Sunggyu an alarming amount of red flags because Woohyun was clingy as fuck.

Maybe he would buy a bouquet of roses, a box of chocolate covered strawberries, and create a 20-page PowerPoint presentation on how terrible of a fiancée he was. If everything worked out correctly, then maybe they could have a little sexy time afterwards. It has been a while since he and Woohyun had sex. They had just been so busy recently. The Clan had been tackling him with hacking jobs upon hacking jobs, and Woohyun had been busy preparing for the new school year with his kindergartners.

Sunggyu stepped out of the shower ten minutes later, sparkly clean and a big ball of suffering, for his throbbing headache had turned into a throbbing migraine and even the bright, fluorescent bathroom lights hurt him. He could _feel_ his head pulsate. He quickly dried off, knocked back a couple of migraine pills, and threw some clothes on.

As he approached the kitchen, the low voices grew louder.

“Yeah, I was at the restaurant for, like, three hours before I walked out…”

“And what was his excuse?!”

“He wouldn’t tell me, just kept saying he fucked up.”

“I honestly don’t understand what you see in him.”

“I love him…”

One was Woohyun, and the other, well, Sunggyu wished he hadn’t recognize it. When he walked in, he saw Woohyun leaned up against the kitchen island twirling a fork in his hand. There were small, white boxes piled on top of each other on the island. But that’s not what really got his attention.

Across from Woohyun was Sunggyu’s worst nightmare, someone he considered worse than the whole Clan put together. The young man was wearing a pair of dark jeans with a white button up. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. The top buttons were unbuttoned, revealing pearly white skin, brighter than the whites of his eyes. His platinum blond hair was styled perfectly as if he just walked off the set of a photoshoot. The man was pretty; too pretty.

Prettier than his childhood.

Both occupants of the kitchen turned silent as Sunggyu made his presence known.

Woohyun turned to him, gave him a small smile, and a whispered good morning. He didn’t seem as angry as he was last night, so that’s was an improvement. Maybe he could scratch off the Power Point presentation apology from his list of things to do today. Sunggyu walked up to Woohyun and gave him a peck on the cheek, whispering a good morning back to him. He then eyed Satan’s spawn in front of them.

“Sungjong.”

“Sunggyu.”

The kitchen grew quiet again as the two men narrowed their eyes at each other. Woohyun cleared his throat, straightening up. “Would you like some cake, Gyu–?”

“What are you doing here?” Sunggyu ignored his fiancée.

“I’m just visiting my lovely brother.” Sungjong scowled. “You look like shit, by the way.”

“And your attitude is still shit, _by the way_.”

“Okay! Who wants more cake?” Woohyun yelled, slamming his hands on the counter. 

It was safe to say Sunggyu hated Sungjong’s guts. They never been on good terms, not even before Sunggyu and Woohyun started dating. The first time they met, they got into a full-on brawl, and the younger beat his ass. Sungjong may be as small as a flag, but his punches felt like a brick.

Sunggyu subconsciously rubbed his right eye. Traumatic flashbacks from his last encounter with Sungjong made their way to the forefront of his mind.

“Gyu, sit.” Woohyun pat the bar stool next to him, gesturing for Sunggyu to sit down. “Have some cake.”

Sunggyu didn’t take him eyes off of his soon-to-be brother-in-law. “Cake?” He sat down. “Why is there cake? Why are you having cake so earlier in the morning?”

“ _It’s three in the afternoon, dumbass_.” Sungjong whispered, rolling his eyes, but Sunggyu heard it clearly. Before he could retort, Woohyun placed his hand on his shoulder. He finally turned to his fiancée.

Woohyun gave Sunggyu a gentle smile. “Today, _we_ were supposed to do some cake tasting for the wedding.”

Fuck.

That was all that went through Sunggyu’s mind.

With each word that came out his mouth, Woohyun’s smile grew wider and wider, and Sunggyu knew better than anyone else that that smile was anything _but_ gentle.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” His brows furrowed.

“I did. _Multiple times_. And each time, you told me to give you five minutes. And five minutes turned into  _two hours_ , _Sunggyu_.”

The young man blinked, vaguely remembering Woohyun shaking him awake, only for him to brush him off and grumpily go back to sleep.

“Well,” Woohyun continued. “Since you had such an _eventful night_ last night, I figured I go alone. But luckily, my wonderful baby brother was free and willing to come with me.” The grip on Sunggyu’s shoulder tightened.

Sunggyu flinched in pain, swallowing thickly. He didn’t know what to say. He had completely forgotten the reservation they had made. Granted, a lot happened yesterday, so can you really blame him?

Yes.

Yes, you can.

Woohyun pulled away from him and picked up on of the various boxes of cake on the counter and placed it in front of Sunggyu. “I think you might like this one. It’s strawberry shortcake.” He gave Sunggyu the fork he was holding earlier.

“I think it’s time for me to leave,” Sungjong announced, getting off the stool. He narrowed his eyes at Sunggyu one last time before leaving. Sunggyu flipped him off when Woohyun wasn’t looking.

“Let me walk you to the door!” Woohyun followed Sungjong out of the kitchen.

Sunggyu dug into the piece of cake, trying to enjoy the savory strawberry filling, but the guilt of missing out on their anniversary dinner and the subsequent wedding cake tasting clawed at him. He didn’t mean for this to happen. Yesterday was supposed to be perfect. And now there’s a good chance The Clan could change their minds about giving him a second chance and just put a hit on him and everyone he has an ounce of care for–which wasn’t many, to be perfectly honest.

“I need to call Dongwoo…” he mumbled aloud. Sungyeol had trashed and threw away his phone, so he also needed to stop by a phone store whenever he leaves to see Dongwoo. Sunggyu takes one more bite of the strawberry shortcake before pushing it away. Woohyun hadn’t returned yet, so he quickly went back their bedroom. He closed the door quietly and made a beeline for his dresser.

In the top drawer were all his socks and underwear. He dug deep into the drawer and pulled out an old, dirty black sock from the back. It was balled up tightly with the cuff tied in a knot. He untied it and pulled out a small, gray TracFone. The screen had multiple scratches, and the top half was blacked out, but it didn’t matter. He had all the necessary numbers memorized. Sunggyu then pulled an old phone charger from out of the sock as well. He plugged up the phone and watched as it slowly came to life.

It buzzed in his hand, and a light here and there shined through the cracks. He waited a couple of more minutes before he quickly unlocked the phone and dialed Dongwoo’s number.

Shockingly, Dongwoo answered on the third ring.

Dongwoo’s cheerful laughter flowed through the speaker. “Ayo, it’s about time you called!”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Sunggyu sighed, rubbing his face. He flinched in pain when he touched his nose. “I was a bit preoccupied. Is it okay to meet up now? You’re not busy, right?”

“Nah, I finished all my work earlier. Let’s meet at the usual place in fifteen?” Dongwoo suggested.

“Sure, I’ll also need to stop by a phone store and see about getting a new phone. And maybe a new car…” Sunggyu trailed off, frowning, remembering yesterday, as he was getting into his car to meet up with Woohyun for their anniversary dinner, a group of Sungyeol’s minions ambushed him, totaling his car and dragged him away to see the Boss.

Sunggyu thanked God that Woohyun hadn’t noticed–or at least mentioned–his missing car in the apartment garage.

“Need me to pick you up?” Dongwoo offered.

“No, I’ll be fine. With The Clan finding out what I did, it’s best I keep a low profile and make sure I’m not being tailed as we meet up. I’d rather you not get involved again.”

“Okay…” Sunggyu was almost sure Dongwoo was frowning.

The young man hung up, not waiting to hear what else Dongwoo had to say. He quickly changed outfits, stuffed his hair into a beanie, and grabbed a face mask and a pair of sunglasses. As he left the bedroom and made his way to the front door, he saw Woohyun in the living room, on the couch, quietly staring off into space, his fingers idly tapping on his thighs. It was an anxious habit of his.

“Woohyun, baby?” Sunggyu called, walking into the living room. He placed his things on the coffee table and sat down next to his fiancée. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Woohyun mumbled, sighing.

“…Do you wanna tell me what’s up?”

Woohyun was quiet for a moment before glancing at him. “Are _we_ okay?”

Sunggyu blinked, brows furrowing. “What do you mean?”

The younger sighed again. “Sunggyu… the wedding is in one month…”

“Yes, I know.” That was the one thing that was always on the forefront of his mind. He and Woohyun would be getting married on the eighteenth of June.

“Are you… do you…” Woohyun trailed off, covering his face with his hands. Another sigh could be heard from him.

Sunggyu wrapped his arm around Woohyun’s shoulders, forcing the latter to lean against him. He kissed the crown of Woohyun’s head. “Baby, tell me what’s wrong,” he urged. Normally Woohyun would straight up tell Sunggyu what was wrong. If something was bothering him, Sunggyu would know. Woohyun would never hesitate and hold something back.

“Do… you still want to get married?” Woohyun whispered, lowering his hands.

Sunggyu slightly pulled away from Woohyun. He was completely baffled by the question. “What makes you think that? Why would you say that?”

Woohyun looked at him with indignation. “If you haven’t forgotten, you never told me what happened last night. For fuck’s sake, Sunggyu, you came home at four in the morning, covered in blood and with a broken nose, no less. You’ve been _gone_ more often than you normally do. You keep forgetting all the appointments we’ve made for the wedding, the cake tasting, finding a venue, booking the florist and the caterers! All those boxes of cake in the kitchen, I brought them home for you so you could have a say in what cake we eat! I just…” He stood up in exasperation, pulling away from Sunggyu. “I feel like I’m doing this all by myself. I feel like I’m the only one who wants to get married.”

Sunggyu was stunned at Woohyun’s confession. He knew he had been absent a lot lately. The Clan kept him busier than usual, but he didn’t realize how much it affected the other. Up until now, Woohyun always minded his business and tried his best to not question Sunggyu’s job and such. This wasn’t the first time Woohyun complained to him about being gone without a word, though, but he never looked and sounded this frustrated.

With the way things were going, though, Sunggyu hoped that The Clan wouldn’t get in the way of his happiness with Woohyun for much longer. Despite being caught, Sunggyu was able to hide most of what he had been doing on the side for the past year. He hoped none of it was in vain and that, soon, he would be able to make up for all that time lost with Woohyun.

Sunggyu reached out, grabbing Woohyun’s hands. He squeezed gently, wordlessly apologizing to him. Sunggyu was never very good with words and comforting people. It was a miracle he and Woohyun was still together after all these years.

“I didn’t realize how much I’ve been missing. You know how much I _love_ you, right? I can’t see myself with anyone else in the world. You’re the light of my life. Everything I do, I do for you.”

Which was true.

The only reason he was still with The Clan was so that he could make enough to secure both his and Woohyun’s future. He wanted nothing but the best for him. Woohyun deserved so much better. He deserved someone who wasn’t a criminal, who wasn’t an embezzler, who wasn’t knocking on death’s door each time he stepped foot into The Clan’s headquarters.

Sunggyu pulled Woohyun closer to him, forcing the younger to climb onto his lap. Woohyun was quiet as he made himself comfortable. The anger was still evident in his eyes, though. Sunggyu let go of his hands and wrapped his arms around his small waist.

“I’m sorry. I really am. I promise I’ll do better.”

Woohyun leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Sunggyu’s. “I just wish you could be a little more open with me,” he whispered.

Sunggyu tilted his head and pressed his lips to Woohyun’s, hearing a sigh from the latter before a kiss was return. He tried to convey how sorry he truly was into the kiss, asking Woohyun for forgiveness and to just give him a little time. This would all be over soon.

The TracFone on the coffee table began to vibrate, and Sunggyu regretfully pulled away from his fiancée. He gave him one more chaste kiss before patting his butt and motioning him to get off. Sunggyu grabbed his phone and saw Dongwoo’s number flash on the screen. He didn’t realize that fifteen minutes had passed, and he was late for his meeting with the younger.

“I’m sorry, I have to go,” he apologized, standing up.

“Where are you going?”

“I promised I meet Dongwoo today.”

“When will you be back?” Woohyun quietly asked.

“As soon as I’m done with him.” He put on his face mask.

“Should I ask what happened to your phone?”

Sunggyu stopped what he was doing and nervously looked at Woohyun. Said man was eyeing the TracFone in his hand.

“Umm…”

“And your car?”

Shit.

“No?”

Woohyun huffed but didn’t say more.

* * *

“I actually thought something happened!” Dongwoo complained as Sunggyu sat down in front of him. The café was mostly empty; a few patrons here and there, and the staff were quiet, minding their business. Sunggyu and Dongwoo were sitting in a corner booth with no windows.

“Woohyun and I were talking, and I lost track of time.”

“Everything good between you two?”

“I think so…” As he was leaving, Woohyun still appeared a bit upset from their conversation, but he didn’t protest when he left to meet Dongwoo. He even offered to drive him to the café. He regretfully declined, though.

Dongwoo waved his hand, attempting to get a café staff’s attention. “So?”

Straight to the point.

Sunggyu kept the face mask on but took the sunglasses off. His face still ached, but it was now more so a dull throb. When the waiter appeared, both of them ordered a cup of coffee.

“They found out I had been wiring some of The Clan’s funds into one of my offshore bank accounts.”

“How?” Dongwoo’s brow’s furrowed.

“I’m not sure yet. I must had made some sort of mistake, must had not cover my tracks completely.” Sunggyu sighed, slouching in his seat. He wished he had known where he screwed up, but it was too early to tell.

“How much money?”

Before the other could answer, the waitress returned with the coffee. Both quietly thanked her and waited till she walked away before continuing the conversation.

“It wasn’t as much as I usually wired. About 100k, give or take. If they knew how much I’ve actually been taking this last year and transferring to my _other accounts_ , I wouldn’t be sitting here now."

Dongwoo gave a low whistle, nodding. He took a sip of his coffee. “You’re fucked.”

“ _I know_ ,” Sunggyu bemoaned, slouching further into the seat. His coffee was long forgotten.

“Who do you think found out and told the Boss?”

“Not sure, but I’m putting my money on Howon.”

“Howon?” He frowned. “Why him?”

“He knows Woohyun.”

Dongwoo gave him an alarming look. “How? I thought–”

“I’m not sure how he found out about him. Woohyun said he had approached him at his job. Howon was pretending to be a parent whose kid went to Woohyun’s school.”

“That’s not good. That’s not good at all.”

“If Howon knows about Woohyun, who else does? I’m grateful that it’s just him, but if someone like Myungsoo found out…” Sunggyu shuddered in fear at the thought of Myungsoo hurting Woohyun.

“I don’t…” Dongwoo hesitated before continuing, “There must be some reason he made himself known to Woohyun. Howon isn’t like the others. After what they did to his brother a few years back, my sources told me that Howon had been staying out of the Boss’s lime light, doing small jobs here and there, steering clear of you and the rest of the higher ups.”

“Well, whatever the case is, the minute I see that kid, he’s gonna have some questions to answer.” Sunggyu slammed his fist on the table, angrily.

“What’s your plan for now, though?”

“Well.” Sunggyu leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “I was hoping you’d help me figure out the rest. I’m… still alive. The Boss took pity on me and gave me another chance.”

“You were always his favorite.”

Sunggyu nodded. That was one thing he always used to his advantage. He had always kissed up to the Boss, and it always paid off, even now. “I’m gonna stay low for now, do whatever they say without question, but I want out.”

Dongwoo frowned, crossing his arms. He raised one brow at Sunggyu.

“What?” Sunggyu narrowed his eyes at his friend. “You did it. You got out. Why can’t I?”

“Sunggyu, I left The Clan years ago. Back when it was still small, back when they didn’t go around murdering _city officials_. Plus, I was just grunt, back then. I didn’t know a lot of people. Just Howon and a few others. No one noticed when I disappeared. You, though, Sunggyu? You’re the fucking poster child for The Clan.”

Sunggyu couldn’t deny that the Boss showered him with a lot of attention. When missions were successfully completed, he had always gotten more spoils from the missions than anyone else. He always got special privilege. Despite there being others part of the clan much longer than him–Howon, Sungyeol, and Myungsoo–he was treated like royalty.

“If Sungyeol and Myungsoo weren’t latching themselves onto every little thing the Boss did, I’m pretty sure you’d be his right-hand man.”

“I’ve no interest of going any deeper than I am. I want out, Dongwoo. If I don’t get out now, there won’t be much a future for me and Woohyun.”

Dongwoo shook his head, looking down. “I sometimes regret introducing him to you.” He said quietly. “If Woohyun knew how dangerous you had become over these last couple of years, if he knew the kind of life you had been living, if he knew his own life was always at risk...”

Sunggyu looked away, angry at Dongwoo’s confession, but he couldn’t help but agree with it. Woohyun would had been safer, _happier_ , if it weren’t for him. “That’s why I need your help, Dongwoo.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he sighed.

* * *

Sunggyu walked out the phone store with a pretty, expensive, new phone in his hand. Yesterday, when he was ambushed, they trashed his wallet, among other things. But, luckily, his wallet wasn’t carrying much, nothing of important value. Just a couple of bills, enough to pay for dinner. He had left his main wallet at home.

So, thanks to that, he was able to get himself a new phone immediately. The store clerk was able to transfer everything from his old phone so he didn’t have to input every single Clan member’s–at least the ones he directly worked with–number. He found a bench outside of the store to sit at and waited for his phone to turn on. 

When he unlocked his phone, Sunggyu smiled as a picture of him and Woohyun appeared in the background. The latter was hugging him and kissing his cheek, while it was Sunggyu himself taking the shot. Before he could do anything else, though, the phone began to uncontrollably vibrate in his hand as notification upon notification popped up on the screen. They were all from yesterday.

He had several missed calls from Woohyun–twenty, to be exact–a few from Dongwoo, and surprisingly, a couple from Howon. Then the text messages appeared, all from Woohyun. The first couple were angry messages, asking him where he was, but then Sunggyu could tell how worried the younger had become as the messages sounded a bit frantic, begging him to at least let him know he was alright. It wasn’t intentional, but he knew he had really hurt Woohyun yesterday for not celebrating their anniversary. Woohyun _wasn’t_ over it, despite accepting–wait, did he actually accept it–his apology. Sunggyu told himself that when this was all over, once he had escaped, he would sit Woohyun down and explain everything. Hopefully, after that, Woohyun would still want to be with him, would still love him. He wouldn’t blame him if he wanted nothing to do with him afterwards.

The notifications slowed down as all that was left were just miscellaneously emails about nothing. He did see one email about his offshore bank account being forcibly closed down, and the money had been extracted. Thankfully, Sunggyu had multiple accounts. The one The Clan had found out about was just recently made. Not much money was wired to it yet.

The phone felt hot in his hand as the screen finally dimmed down and there was nothing else to pop up. Just as he was about to stuff the phone in his pocket and catch a cab back home, the phone began to buzz. He was going to ignore it, thinking it was another notification, but the vibrations persisted. When he looked at the screen, he felt his blood run cold.

It was The Clan.

Specifically, the Boss.

Sunggyu’s fingers trembled as he slid it across the screen, answering the call. He put the device up to his ear, swallowing thickly.

“Hello?” He shakily greeted.

“Kim Sunggyu.”

Sunggyu’s brows furrowed. The voice didn’t belong to the Boss, but, in fact, someone just as bad, if not worse. He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen just in case he read the wrong number, but no, it _was_ the Boss’ digits. He put the phone back to his ear.

“What do you want, _Myungsoo_?”


End file.
